Inside the large camp built along the water source, Tan Shihuai looked at the somewhat gloomy sky outside and a smile appeared on his lips.
In a bloody battle a few days ago, Tan Shihuai won a great victory, killing nearly 10,000 Xiongnu cavalrymen, successfully occupying the Xiongnu royal court in Xiezhiyu, and forcing them to the northwest of Juyan.
If the weather cooperates and another heavy rain falls, then Xie Zhiyu's remaining 40,000 cavalry will be completely trapped here, becoming a piece of fat meat in Tan Shihuai's mouth.
"Mr. Wenyue, do you think this rain will come?"
Inside the tent, Tan Shihuai looked at Han Sui, who was deep in thought, with a smile on his face.
Han Sui shook his head: "I am not knowledgeable in astronomy, but whether this rain comes or not will not have much impact on you!"
Tan Shihuai raised an eyebrow: "Hmm~, what were you thinking about just now?"
Han Sui raised his head with a solemn expression: "I'm thinking, if you eliminate Xie Zhiyu, how will the Han Dynasty respond? After all, without Xie Zhiyu, your sphere of influence will extend north of the Great Wall, and the Han Dynasty's attention will be entirely focused on you."
"Hmm, that is a problem!"
Han Sui's words made Tan Shihua frown.
In recent years, Tan Shihuai has also sent many spies to the Han Dynasty to gather information, and has clearly seen the growing national strength and military power of the Han Dynasty.
Now Zhang Huan has 200,000 troops stationed in Bingzhou, guarding all the passes of the Great Wall.
Not long ago, Duan Jiong also dispatched 50,000 troops to garrison Juyan and closely guard the Hexi Corridor.
In addition, there were bandits like Qiangqu and Yufuluo who would plunder the grasslands from time to time.
Nowadays, it is no longer so easy for these tribes on the grasslands to go south to raid for grain.
Now that the Han Dynasty has closed its trade with the grasslands, the tribes on the grasslands will certainly not be able to hold out for long.
"Does Wenyue have any good ideas?" Tan Shihuai looked at Han Sui with a pleading expression.
Han Sui pondered for a moment, then said, "The only way right now is to unify the grasslands as soon as possible, then concentrate our forces and fight a decisive battle with the Han Dynasty, forcing the Han Dynasty to cede the Hexi Corridor and reopen the trade routes!"
"But unifying the grasslands is easier said than done, and the Han Dynasty certainly won't stand idly by!"
Speaking of this, Tan Shihuai couldn't help but sigh softly.
Previously, the three Xianbei tribes were in an alliance, and the Yuwen and Murong tribes outwardly respected him as their leader.
However, ever since Tan Shihuai accepted the title of Marquis of Mobei from the Han Dynasty, the Yuwen and Murong tribes have severed ties with him and have been opposing him at every turn.
Tan Shihuai originally planned to bide his time, use the resources of the Han Dynasty to develop his own strength, and then use force to forcibly unify the grasslands and establish a grassland nation like the Han Dynasty.
However, the speed of development of the Han Dynasty was beyond his imagination. In just a few years, hundreds of thousands of troops had been added to the borders of the Han Dynasty.
This caused Tan Shihuai's original strategy to fail completely.
Once he goes to war with the Yuwen and Murong tribes, the Han Dynasty will definitely take the opportunity to send troops.
If we end up facing enemies on both sides, then we'll truly have no way out.
At this moment, Tan Shihuai also felt a deep sense of powerlessness. His meticulous planning and ambition had lost all meaning in the face of the increasingly powerful Han Dynasty.
Seeing the sudden look of disappointment on Tan Shihuai's face, Han Sui said in a deep voice, "Therefore, before you unify the grasslands, you must distract the Han Dynasty and make them unable to attend to this side!"
Tan Shihuai raised an eyebrow: "Oh? I wonder what good plan Wenyue has?"
"I believe we can make use of the Western Regions!"
"The Western Regions?"
Tan Shihuai paused for a moment, then looked at Han Sui with some confusion.
Han Sui said, "Your battle with Xie Zhiyu this time was only to occupy the southern grasslands. Now he is at his wit's end. I think there is no need to exterminate him!"
"What does Wen Yue mean by this? Does he want me to let Xie Zhiyu go and allow him to continue to be my enemy?"
Tan Shihua frowned, staring intently at Han Sui, a thought inevitably forming in his mind.
The reason I chose to launch this uprising and fight the Xie Zhi in the final battle was to ensure the stability of my rear when I attacked the Yuwen and Murong tribes in the future.
Now that Han Sui actually wants him to let Xie Zhiyu go, how can he go to unify the grasslands with peace of mind?
He even began to suspect that Han Sui was sent by the Han Dynasty to deliberately disrupt the grasslands and restrain him.
Meeting Tan Shihuai's cold gaze, Han Sui smiled calmly.
“Great Chief, Xie Zhiyu will surely be your enemy on the grasslands, but what if he goes to the Western Regions?”
Tan Shihua frowned: "You mean, send Xie Zhiyu to the Western Regions?"
Han Sui nodded: "That's right. Now that the Han Dynasty has established the Dunhuang camp and sent caravans to the Western Regions, it must be intending to regain control of the Western Regions and restore trade. As long as there is chaos there, the Han Dynasty will never sit idly by."
After all, the Western Regions were extremely important to the Han Dynasty's commerce and economy, and their value far exceeded that of the grasslands!
As long as Xie Zhi continues to cause trouble in the Western Regions, the Han Dynasty will definitely send troops on a distant expedition. This will not only consume a large amount of the Han Dynasty's manpower and resources, but also leave the defenses of Hexi vulnerable, unable to send troops to the grasslands.
At that time, the Great Chieftain can not only deal with the Yuwen and Murong tribes with peace of mind, but also take advantage of the weakened defenses of Hexi to retake the Hexi Corridor and sever the connection between the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions.
"Excellent, excellent plan! Wen Yue is truly my Zhang Liang!"
After hearing the entire plan, Tan Shihuai couldn't help but applaud, gaining a new understanding of Han Sui's strategy.
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